Paralegals & Legal Secretaries

Paralegal Profile: Peter Buckley, Creator of LinkedIn's Paralegal Network Group

By Lynne DeVenny

Employer: Liberty Mutual Insurance Company, Boston, MA

Years of Paralegal Experience: 13

Career Highlight: The biggest career highlight was the first time that firms and companies sought me out for my experience. That spoke volumes to me regarding how much I have progressed in my profession and how people took notice.

Practice Tip for Paralegals: Organization, attention to detail, the ability to think outside the box and having the drive to tackle any type of legal task are some of the most key components in this profession. This is a profession where multitasking is essential. Without it you would not advance very far. Most importantly, keep up with your CLEs as well as any other legal education that is offered. There are a lot of free opportunities out there; you just need to look for them.

As the creator and administrator of the LinkedIn Group, Paralegal Network, with over 1,100 members, how do you think paralegals most benefit from using social media?
Social media is extremely useful in today?s legal community. When researching, it provides endless opportunities to gather information that used to take what seemed like forever to obtain. Now the interactive Internet provides access to groups like LinkedIn and provides networking capabilities that I believe are essential today.

Since I started the Paralegal Network, paralegals from all over the country have been able to connect and network for various needs. I realize that there are many groups like this one, but I am amazed by how many individuals, including myself, have benefited from this group for whatever reason and how selfless the members are when offering advice and/or direction.

I am hoping to expand this group to offer many more resources in the very near future so please join in and give me your feedback. The more I know of the needs of the members, the more I can help offer resources

For paralegals new to social media, how do you suggest they get started?
If they are reading this then they have already started! Finding sites such as this one will offer the opportunity to connect with much more.

What is your favorite social media site for paralegals?
The social networking sites that I use the most are LinkedIn and Facebook. I have used some of the other big ones but they did not offer me what I was looking for. I will only use the ones that I believe are safe and only reveal information that will not turn me into a victim of identity theft.

What is your favorite blog for legal professionals?
I do not blog on a regular basis and do not have a lot of experience using them. To give Lynne the plug that she deserves, I have used Practical Paralegalism and LinkedIn.

Do you Twitter? No

Is entering the paralegal profession worth it? Today you see more job postings for paralegals than for attorneys. Now is not the time to become an attorney but the paralegal field is growing, even in this economic crisis. In the life of a firm or corporate legal department, the need for paralegals is more prevalent. Although paralegals will not make the same salaries as attorneys in most cases, paralegals have been known to make six figure salaries. You can advance in this profession as far as you want. You just need the drive to make it happen.

Favorite Internet Resource for Paralegals: I have many favorites, depending on what I am looking for. All paralegals should open themselves to the world of endless media via the Internet. But there are many sites that are not good and can be detrimental to a research project. Some of the most important ones are your local paralegal association's website and links to your applicable state legislature. Others include but are not limited to:

http://www.paralegals.org/
http://www.lexis.com/
http://www.westlaw.com/

Fun Fact: I am a complete nerd when comes to absolutely useless trivia.

Professional Links:

http://http://www.paralegals.org/
http://www.libertymutual.com/
http://www.massparalegal.org/
http://http://www.linkedin.com/myprofile?trk=hb_side_pro

___________________
I "met" Peter via LinkedIn. If you haven't already joined Paralegal Network, I recommend sending a request to join today. For other LinkedIn paralegal groups, see my prior post about some of the larger and active groups currently available, "LinkedIn: Network by Joining Paralegal Groups."

Full post as published by Practical Paralegalism on November 24, 2009 (boomark / email).